With its top seed and no. 1 state ranking, the Jamesville-DeWitt girls basketball team would enjoy a first-round bye as the 13-team Section III Class A playoffs got underway, finding out last Friday that it would face Homer in the quarterfinals on Tuesday after the no. 8 seed Trojans knocked out no. 9 seed Oneida 46-38.
But Christian Brothers Academy would have to play in Friday’s opening round, against no. 13 seed Phoenix, the first of two games it hoped to win in order to get a possible semifinal shot at the Red Rams this Sunday at Onondaga Community College.
Passing that first test, the no. 4 seed Brothers handled the Firebirds 53-30, building most of that margin during a decisive first quarter where Phoenix could not make much and CBA took full advantage, bolting out to a 19-4 lead.
The Brothers nursed that margin the rest of the way, gradually adding to it while spreading the offense around. Natalie Nardella and Rosalee Winderl earned 12 points apiece, while Paige Nicholson earned eight points. Brooke Jarvis contributed seven points and Nafysa Williams had six points.
So in Tuesday night’s Class A quarterfinal, CBA would face no. 5 seed Fulton, who won a wild 66-62 opening-round game with Utica-Notre Dame. Wins by the Brothers and Red Rams would mean that CBA and J-D would go head-to-head Sunday. The title game is Feb. 28 at 4:30.
In its last regular-season test, J-D hosted Cortland, and while the game was much closer than some recent encounters, the Red Rams still took over in the second half and earned a 66-40 victory over the Purple Tigers.
For a half, Cortland hung right in there, only trailing by one, 29-28, at intermission as Jackie Phililps kept getting open for the Purple Tigers, converting on a trio of 3-pointers and finishing the night with 17 points.
Much of that came early, though, for J-D’s defense restored its usual bite in the third quarter and the offense perked up, too, creating a decisive 21-6 run. It didn’t stop until Carly O’Hern had picked up 17 points, with Juila Kelner (14 points) and Meg Hair (10 points) also hitting double figures. Julia Fairbanks had nine points, with Angela Bussone contributing seven points.
CBA also had a bit of work to do in the regular season before it hit the sectional tournament, and proved quite effective in last Monday night’s game against Auburn, where it flattened the Maroons 67-32 to improve its mark to 14-6.
Having taken an 82-45 loss to Bishop Kearney on Feb. 6, the Brothers were eager to play again two nights later, and wasted little time taking over against Auburn, scoring 25 points in the first quarter alone, its fastest start of the season.
By halftime, the margin was healthy, and CBA added to it with a 19-5 third-quarter push that made it 56-25 before the starters rested. Nardella had 17 points and five rebounds, while Nicholson had 13 points. Winderl got 11 points and Jarvis added 10 points as Kate Lacasse stepped up with seven points, seven assists and five rebounds.
